NEW CASTLE, Del. – The Daemen University women's volleyball team split Saturday at the Wildcat Regional Invitational, falling first to Adelphi University of the NE10 in the first matchup of the day but rebounding with a victory over host Wilmington University of the CACC to finish the weekend with a 2-2 record.
In the first match of the day, the Wildcats lost to the Adelphi Panthers in a five-set thriller, 2-3 (14-25, 25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 13-15). Daemen finished with 56 kills in the loss to the Panthers, who narrowly out-hit Daemen with 60 kills while hitting at a .310 clip compared to the Wildcats' .199 on the day.
Daemen collected their second win of the tournament in the final match of the weekend in a 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 32-30, 25-14) victory over the Wilmington Wildcats. The Daemen Wildcats were hot offensively, with eight players collecting kills as Daemen out-hit Wilmington 56 to 32 on the night.
The Wildcats come out of their final tournament of the regular season with a 4-7 record. Daemen opens East Coast Conference play next weekend as they play host to Molloy and Queens on Saturday, Sept. 27 and Sunday, Sept. 28.
DAEMEN 2, ADELPHI 3
- After trading points to open the first set, the Panthers put together a 9-2 run to take a 13-6 advantage over the Cats early. Adelphi held onto their lead throughout the rest of the first, taking the set 25-14 after attacking the Wildcats offensively with 12 kills and just one error on 23 attacks to hit at a .478 clip while Daemen committed eight attack errors with 10 kills on 32 attacks.
- Bouncing back in the second set, Daemen kicked things off early with eight kills to take a 14-6 advantage over the Panthers. Late in the set, Adelphi scored five straight to bring the game within two, 19-17, but Daemen closed out the second scoring six of the final eight points off kills from sophomore right side Payton Gaylor (Bowmanville, Ont.) and senior outside hitter Nahirka Malpica (Caguas, P.R.) to win the second, 25-19.
- After Adelphi opened the third with a 11-6 lead, Daemen went on a 7-1 run and took a lead they would never relinquish. The Cats led by as much as nine, 24-15, in the third and despite the Panthers scoring five unanswered to bring the game within four, Daemen closed out the set with a Gaylor kill to take the third 25-20 after totaling 13 kills with just two errors while hitting .550 in the set.
- The Panthers again got off to a hot start in the fourth, 12-4, and despite the Wildcats keeping it close with runs throughout the set, the Panthers would take the fourth 25-20 to send the match to a winner take all fifth.
- Daemen took a 4-0 lead off four Adelphi errors to start the fifth, but the Panthers won five of the next six points to tie it up at five all. The Wildcats and Panthers traded points throughout, and Daemen took a 13-12 advantage after scoring four straight off three kills and a Wildcat block. Following a Panther timeout, Adelphi scored three straight points to take the fifth, 15-13, and win the match, 3-2.
Malpica led the Wildcats offensively, totaling 15 and added three aces, two block assists and five digs. Gaylor posted a career-high 14 kills on 29 attacks to hit at .310 on the day. Freshman outside hitter
Keira Mullen (Farmingdale, N.J.) chipped in 12 kills while sophomore outside hitter
Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) added eight kills. Junior
Molly Ryan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and fifth year
Avery Dole (Summerfield, N.C.) split setting duties, with Ryan totaling 23 assists and four digs and Dole posting 22 assists and eight digs.
DAEMEN 3, WILMINGTON 1
- Daemen jumped out to a 10-4 advantage early and held onto a solid lead until late when Wilmington put together a 5-2 run to make it a three-point game, 22-19. With a Gaylor kill, a huge Rancy and Craig block and a Wilmington attack error, Daemen won the first, 25-20 after out-hitting Wilmington 15 to 8.
- After trading points to 13 all, Wilmington went on a 7-2 run to take a 20-15 lead over the Wildcats and closed out the set winning four unanswered points to win the second, 25-18, and tie the match up at one a piece.
- Five Daemen attack errors lifted Wilmington to a 7-2 lead to start the third set, but a 9-4 run by the Cats tied everything up at 11 early. Wilmington went on a run to lead the Cats 19-13, but again Daemen mounted a comeback to tie the game up, this time at 21 all after four Daemen service aces and two kills. The third set would go to extra points as both teams traded scoring throughout the rest of the set, but Daemen closed it out with three points at the end off kills from Gaylor and Dole and a Dole service ace to beat Wilmington 32-30.
- After a wild third set, Daemen handled Wilmington in the fourth, jumping out to a 10-3 lead and remaining in control for the rest of the set. The Wildcats led by as much as eight, 20-12, in the set and held on to take down Wilmington 25-14 in the final set to win the match, 3-1.
Mullen posted a match-high 18 kills on 29 attacks while hitting .483 and added two aces in the win. Malpica chipped in 12 kills, 18 digs and four aces along with a solo block. Freshman middle blocker Solé Rancy led the Wildcats at the net with six total blocks – five assisted, one solo. Dole totaled 25 assists, nine digs, two blocks and two aces.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
Follow the Daemen women's volleyball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWVB
